Fischhuber and Bibik big in Bulgaria

24.04.2006 by

The second round of the Bouldering World Cup 2006 held in Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria) last weekend was won by Kilian Fischhuber from Austria and Olga Bibik from Russia.

The second round of the Bouldering World Cup 2006 held in Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria) last weekend produced a clear result: Kilian Fischhuber from Austria and Olga Bibik from Russia won ahead of Matthias Müller from Switzerland and Olha Shalagina from the Ukraine. Third place went to Jerome Meyer, winner in Birmingham on 19 March ahead of Fischhuber and to the 17 year old Austrian Anna Stöhr.

At the start of this long 7-stage World Cup journey it seems as if the stars belonging to Fischhuber, Meyer and, naturally, Olga Bibik (with two straight victories) are shining significantly brighter than the rest. But as all know, very few things are certain in this discipline... and the battle for first place is more open than things may apparently seem. This is confirmed by how the competition actually went, seeing that Olga Bibik qualified 16th of 20 for the semifinal, while in the men's competition Meyer finished provisional 8th, behind the likes of Core (5th) and Moroni (6th). Müller for his part comfortably led the provisional field thanks to the inferior number of tries needed to send 3 tops, compared to Fischhuber and the Russian new entry Sharafutdinov, 2nd and 3rd respectively.

This first phase set by Jackie Godoffe was by no means a walkover therefore. And there were plenty of surprises in store. Angela Eiter, the current World Difficulty Champion, was one such surprise with her lead of the women's field after the qualification round. The 20 year old Austrian confirmed this supremacy in the semifinal too, sending 2 of the 4 problems, while all other finalists (Bibik, Danion, Abramchuk, Shalagina and Stöhr) qualified for the next round with just one problem under their belt. But the final confirmed how uncertain bouldering at the highest levels can be, with the finishing result going right down to the wire: 5 athletes topped out on 2 of the 4 problems, and only Abramchuk sent just 1. The result: Bibik won with 2 tries less, while the rest were divided by their zones. These minimal differences meant that Shalagina beat Stöhr into third place, while Eiter placed 4th and Danion 5th.

This Leitmotiv of just a few problems solved with the smallest of margins was repeated in the men's event, too. Meyer topped out on 2 of the 4 semifinal problems to command the provisional field ahead of Fischhuber, Moroni, Müller, Rakhmetov and Gaidioz. But master Godoffe's "dynamic" and "immaginative" final boulders upheaved this result, with Fischhuber topping out on 3 with just 3 attempts less than Müller, who finished second. Meyer topped out on 2 and beat team-mate Gaidioz by just one attempt, while Moroni topped out on 1 problem to finish fifth ahead of Bouldering World Champion Rakmhetov.

So Kilian Fischhuber and Olga Bibik currently lead the provisional Bouldering World Cup 2006... until the next stage of course. Upheavals, surprises and uncertainties are increasingly the name of the game in world class bouldering. The third, unmissable stage will be held in Rovereto, Italy, on 12-14 May!